Marika's voice seemed to carry an irresistible Magical Power, like a succubus luring mortals into tasting forbidden fruit.
Nolan was not swayed by her words, nor did he ask any pointless questions. He answered directly:
"How?"
He had considered the idea long ago, but he had never found a practical way to make it work. This was not the world sustained by fire, and fire was far from omnipotent.
The two worlds' systems were incompatible. Unless he could install some kind of emulator in this world, it would likely be impossible to fully recreate the power of the Primordial Flame from the Dark Souls universe.
In the world of Dark Souls, the Primordial Flame was like a source. The stronger a soul was, the closer it came to taking the form of fire.
And now, clusters of tiny flames had gathered within his bonfire, yet he had no way to draw them out and use them to kindle new embers.
"Use your Order."
Marika slowly settled back into Nolan's arms, extending her slender, pale fingers to trace gentle circles over his firm chest as she spoke softly:
"This is the power of the gods. I am willing to continue serving as the vessel for the Law Ring. I only need your Order of Fire. I know how to let you see the people you wish to see again."
"But I'm not an Empyrean, and I don't have any Order," Nolan said with a frown.
"You didn't before, but you do now. Look at those little flames. They're right here, inside your body!"
Marika suddenly sat up. Her golden eyes fixed straight on Nolan, and her hands pressed hard against him as she spoke urgently.
"My foolish son was outsmarted by his own cleverness. They turned twisted love into a fire that accepts all things and keeps them in order, and that nascent flame belongs to you now."
Nolan's heart jolted. He remembered that when he had slept with Trina, something invisible and ring-shaped had entered his body. Instinctively, he sensed the changes within himself.
Sure enough, within that ever-brightening flame, there was now a vague, indescribable feeling.
It was a newborn spark, not power itself, but an order, or perhaps a law.
He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked in confusion, "Where did this thing come from? It wasn't there before. Aren't Empyreans born that way?"
"A flawed imitation is drawn to the perfect original. The more incomplete it is, the more it yearns for perfection. My 'daughter' isn't bad, is she?"
Marika lightly licked her lips, the gesture carrying both allure and an almost pure beauty.
"Miquella gave the Order to Trina, and then because our souls merged, it came to me?"
Nolan found it rather surreal, but then again, this was a surreal world to begin with.
If Lansseax found out he had become a candidate for godhood, she would probably be so happy she would pounce on him and lick him madly. At this point, it seemed he really could not avoid becoming the God-Lord.
"And what about you? What are you after?" Nolan stared at the woman before him, his gaze sharp and deep.
He did not believe she was doing this just to help him. This woman was no saint. She definitely had schemes of her own.
"Believe me or not, all I want is for you to use your endless fire to burn that damned Golden Order to ashes."
The moment she mentioned the Golden Order, Marika's expression twisted violently. It was her own Order, yet she seemed to hate it to the very core.
Right now, she looked like some pitiful woman deceived by a scumbag, though she herself was clearly the kind of woman who liked playing with others.
After a long while, her anger seemed to gradually subside. She lay directly in Nolan's arms, looked up at him, and said:
"But I should warn you. Your fire is an extremely unusual existence. To realize this Order, one or two Great Runes certainly won't be enough. 'Everything' needs an entire world to bear it."
"You mean we need all the Great Runes. Bearing this Order requires a complete Law Ring?" Nolan nodded thoughtfully.
"I understand. Then that's all, right? I'll leave if there's nothing else." Nolan clearly had no desire to waste any more time with her.
"Wait." Marika pressed down on Nolan's shoulder and asked, "Are you in a hurry?"
Nolan pursed his lips, gave her a fierce glare, and let out a long sigh. In the end, however, he said nothing.
Whether in reality or within this hazy, illusory dream, Nolan could not enjoy even a moment of peace and comfort.
It seemed that as the Lord of Cinder, he was destined to bear a lifetime of toil and busyness, never knowing rest.
...
Nolan silently lamented how long time could stretch before slowly opening his eyes again. He was still holding Trina in his arms.
The Saintess remained lost in a sweet dream, the corners of her lips faintly raised, not yet awake.
Nolan gently sat up, but before he could pick up the armor scattered on the ground, someone suddenly embraced him.
Looking down, Nolan was surprised to find Her Highness the Saintess's hands clenched tightly, as though she were holding something incredibly important.
She slowly raised her head, and her tear-filled eyes met the gaze of the Promised Consort.
The unexpected sight startled Nolan, and he thought to himself, Did I get caught doing something naughty with my future mother-in-law?
After that brief shock, Nolan froze slightly. The furious accusation of being a faithless lover that he had expected did not come.
He instinctively lowered his head again, but the Saintess, like a startled fawn, quickly reached out, grabbed his shoulders, and refused to let go.
"The Ring... the Ring of Origin is gone!"
Trina was utterly anxious. Her voice was already tinged with sobs, and tears looked ready to spill from her eyes.
"The Ring of Origin?"
"The crown formed from the Order after the deification ceremony. The one I've always worn on my head."
"Deification?" Nolan froze for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief. "So it was the Order."
But Trina was still frantic. "You make it sound so simple. Without the Order, you have no new god. How are we supposed to control the Elden Ring? Are you planning to go to Mother..."
"Wait. Didn't you just say the Order becomes a ring after deification? Then you already had that 'ring.' Doesn't that mean you've already become a god?"
"That's not the same. There are many gods, like the Goddess Of Rot, The Formless Mother... They're all gods, and my current state is similar to theirs. But there is only one god who governs the Lands Between."
Trina lowered her head in despair. Thankfully, Miquella was not here right now. She could already imagine how angry Miquella would be if he learned about this.
This was an Order they had finally managed to reshape after years of observation and exploration. Although it was only a prototype, compared to the old Order of Love, it was already worlds apart.
Miquella was more confident and more stubborn than her. He believed this Order would surely create the ideal world, and that it would surely heal Malenia. Yet now, after a single sleep, it was gone.
Nolan scratched his head and said somewhat sheepishly, "Well, about that... it actually has something to do with me."
He took Trina's hand and told her how the Order had been taken.
***
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